The Gothic theme became very popular after the publication of "The Castle of Otranto" by Horace Walpole in 1764, this theme is prominent throughout "Wuthering Heights", although it is more evident during the religious ceremony. Religious ceremony in this novel is conveyed primarily through death; "Jane Eyre" also includes it in the novel. Each death is conveyed differently but they all have a rather disturbing element, whether it is the way they die, the description of them after death, the reaction of their loved ones or even the places where they rest, such as their graves. Catherine Earnshaw's death in "Wuthering Heights" seems to be quite peaceful and pure, even Nelly describes her death as “divine”, she also tells Heathcliff that he dies “silent as a lamb”. His appearance is also described in a very holy manor by Nelly “His forehead is smooth, his eyelids closed, his lips have the expression of a smile; no angel in heaven could be more beautiful than he appeared", but before his death his appearance was described completely differently with gothic overtones, an example is Nelly who describes his "white cheek and bloodless lip" even though Catherine is alive at this point the description mimics that of a dead person, it is almost a ghostly description because it has no color at all. This description foreshadows what Catherine will become after death, which is how this demonstrates how the supernatural and gothic themes are similar in this novel as we see many Gothic themes portrayed with a somewhat supernatural element. Heathcliff's reaction to Catherine's death is very demonic and almost barbaric: “He hit his head against a gnarled trunk and, looking up, howled, not like a man, but like a sava...... middle of paper......the vampire, are variously described as “closed”, “grinding”, “cannibalistic”, “lacerating”, “visible”, “grinding”, “sharp” and “grinning””. Although there is an eerie atmosphere around death, Nelly describes Heathcliff as "perfectly still", this shows the perfection of death for Heathcliff, who in death will be reunited with his true love. The most gothic part of Heathcliff's death is the unknown: "Mr. Kenneth was perplexed to pronounce of what disorder the master had died." This suggests that there was no real reason for his death. This could be implied regarding Bertha's "illness" as she is seen as mad throughout Jane Eyre "that there was a lady, a, madwoman, kept in the house?" but again no one knows why. The unknown could be linked to the gothic theme as it is quite disturbing as the causes of their death and illness will remain a mystery.